Jan Proesmans was interviewed by the press ("De Morgen" and "Het Laatste Nieuws") on the agreement reached between the national social partners in October 2015 to amend the legal statutory minimum guarantee (“rendementsgarantie”/”rendement minimum garanti”) on employer’s contributions to complementary pension schemes.

For employer’s contributions to defined contribution schemes, as from 1 January 2016, this guarantee will no longer be a fixed percentage of 3,25%, but a variable percentage of between 1,75% and 3,75%, determined by calculating 65% of the average return over a period of 24 months on Belgian state linear bonds with a duration of 10 years. This change was required to ensure the financial viability and the attractiveness of complementary pension schemes installed at company-level or at sector-level, as the return provided by the pension providers (in particular by insurance companies) was significantly reduced over the last 5-10 years.

We are currently awaiting until binding legislation in this regard is enacted. This change will in any case have important consequences on the employer’s obligation to fund the complementary pension scheme type defined contribution.

Articles - On 7 May, 2020, the ONEM/RVA has modified its instructions: the simplified procedures for temporary unemployment due to force majeure resulting from the Covid-19 crisis can be applied up to and including 30 June, 2020.